Pedro's Cy Getting Old

November 10, 2002|By JACK O'CONNELL; Courant Staff Writer

NEW YORK — Pedro Martinez said Thursday that he would phone the Athletics' Barry Zito to congratulate him on winning the American League Cy Young Award. But Martinez couldn't just leave it at that. The Red Sox ace had to add fuel to the ridiculous, media-driven reaction throughout New England about his second-place finish in the balloting.

Boston media outlets simply couldn't accept the Baseball Writers' Association of America vote any more than they could in 1999 when Martinez lost out to Rangers catcher Ivan ``Pudge'' Rodriguez for the AL Most Valuable Player Award. Since then, Martinez has portrayed himself as some sort of martyr, and much of the Boston media have been his willing accomplices.

In this space several weeks ago, Martinez was selected as most deserving of the Cy Young Award. The view was also expressed before Martinez told the press he had no intention to pitch against the Devil Rays on the final weekend.

Perhaps Martinez thought he had the Cy Young locked by that point. Bad thinking. Zito was amid an 8-0 finish, winning significant games in a tight race for the AL West title that Oakland won.

``I am disappointed about all the excuses I have heard about why I didn't win,'' Martinez said. ``I had a great year. I would have liked it better if they just say they are giving it to him. I would respect that then, instead of making all these excuses, making me look bad.''

What excuses, Pedro? None of the writers on the committee bad-mouthed you. Your name was on every ballot. Writers from all over the country studied the numbers and made a choice. Forty percent picked you first. The odor you smell comes from the newsrooms in Boston, which once again smelled a conspiracy, fully ignoring the qualifications of one of the game's best young pitchers who won 23 games for a dominant team.

``I ask you, if it was about numbers of wins, then why didn't [Mark] Mulder win last year?'' Martinez asked. ``Isn't that an interesting question? If it had been [Roger] Clemens or [Randy] Johnson coming back from injury and rehabbing like I did, would we be asking these questions now or having these discussions right now? You hear about all these excuses -- he didn't make his last start, his number of wins, and so on. Doesn't it make you think a bit?''

What Martinez should think about was when he announced three days before the Red Sox were mathematically eliminated that he was through for the season. That remark burned ears not only in press boxes but also in clubhouses and bullpens. In any vote where the candidates are evenly matched, intangibles become factors. Zito took the ball.

Another Gillick Mystery

Once again, Mariners general manager Pat Gillick has floated a ``mystery team'' interested in hiring Dusty Baker. ``Everyone is assuming that Dusty is going to Chicago,'' Gillick said. ``We don't think that's completely true. We have some intelligence that a team with an existing manager would be interested. If so, we could be interested in that team's manager.'' Gillick said the same thing when Lou Piniella was courted by the Devil Rays and the Mets. Speculation immediately centered on the Red Sox because manager Grady Little had once managed for Gillick in the Blue Jays system in the 1980s. A more likely suspect might be the Pirates, whose owner, Kevin McClatchy, is a native of Sacramento, Calif., as is Baker.

Giants owner Peter Magowan thought Baker took too much credit and talked behind the front office's back to the media, which treated the manager with kid gloves. Speculation had been strong that former Angels, White Sox, Phillies and Blue Jays manager Jim Fregosi would be the pick in San Francisco if Baker bolted, but talk now is that the front-runner could be former Expos manager Felipe Alou.

Baker doesn't have a prayer for the Seattle job. The Mariners front office felt they just got rid of a loose cannon in Piniella and aren't about to bring in another. The Mariners have settled on four candidates -- former managers Jim Riggelman (Padres, Cubs) and Buddy Bell (Tigers, Rockies) and longtime coaches Bob Melvin (Brewers, Tigers, Diamondbacks) and Sam Perlozzo (Mets, Mariners, Orioles).